Headmaster’s Newsletter – 18 November 2016

Posted 18 November 2016

Dear Parents,

As every week at Hill House life has been busy and exciting. On top of the usual academic programme rehearsals and preparations for the various Christmas shows are all well underway and more than fourteen different sports teams have turned out to compete against other schools. There have been two concerts in Founders’ Hall and three school trips.

Last week in Lower School, to compliment their studies on the continents, the pupils were entertained by a guest speaker who gave a talk and workshop on the importance of masks in African culture. The children enjoyed trying on a range of authentic masks before making their own masks from clay. The day was a great success.

The boys from Upper Alpha visited the Thames foreshore and found pottery from medieval, Roman and Tudor times. Old animal bones were collected enthusiastically along with discarded oyster shells with buttons punched out of them. Thank you to the staff from the Thames Explorer Trust for their knowledge and enthusiasm.

This week’s trips by the boys in the Lower Sixth to the exhibitions of wildlife photography at the Natural History Museum and the girls in Lower Transitus Z to the Ragged School Museum appear to have gone particularly well. The boys were particularly impressed by the photographs taken by children of their own age and younger.

After this week’s guitar Showcases, the coming week sees three more in Founders’ Hall; Clarinet and Saxophone on Monday, Brass on Wednesday and Cello on Thursday. As ever, these are at 6pm and open to all.

There is a full programme of sports fixtures in the coming week and, in these politically interesting times, the boys of Upper Alpha will be visiting the Houses of Parliament on Friday.

Please be vigilant with the coats and bags your child brings home with them each day. It is seemingly all too easy to bring home the wrong coat/trainers/music case. If you do find you have somebody else’s items please bring it to school the next day and let your Senior Tutor know. This will help everyone be reunited with their belongings as quickly as possible.